Automated identification of carbohydrates

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a computerized method for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans from a mass spectrum. At least one glycan spectrum is received from a mass spectrometer, with each glycan spectrum including peaks having a measured mass. Glycan identifications are automatically assigned to each of the peaks and these assignments are then reported.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

The following U.S. patent applications are fully incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Patent Application No. 2002/0102610 (“Automated Identification of Peptides”); and U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0027216 (“Analysis of Proteins from Biological Fluids Using Mass Spectrometric Immunoassay”).

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates to computer-mediated devices and methods for automated interpretation of data obtained by mass spectrometry in order to identify carbohydrates, particularly carbohydrates covalently bonded with proteins.

Since the genes in an organism encode the list of proteins that the organism manufactures, in principle the complete genome sequence of an organism provides a complete list of proteins in that organism. However, proteins are often modified after they are constructed from the gene (DNA) template, and these modifications have biological significance. Perhaps the most important class of modifications is the addition of small carbohydrates (glycans) to the protein. An example illustrating the importance of these modifications are the human blood groups, which result from the attachment of glycans to molecules on the surface of blood cells. A key problem in proteomics is the identification of these glycans. However, no practical automated method for identifying these glycans is currently available. Such a method would facilitate the labeling of peaks in a spectra and the identification of patterns that may not be readily observed from a non-automated process.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The disclosed embodiments provide examples of improved solutions to the problems noted in the above Background discussion and the art cited therein. There is shown in these examples an improved method and system for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans from a mass spectrum, which may provide some or all of the following features. At least one glycan spectrum is received from a mass spectrometer, with each glycan spectrum including peaks having a measured mass. Glycan identifications are automatically assigned to each of the peaks and these assignments are then reported.

In another embodiment there is disclosed a computerized system for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans from a mass spectrum. The system includes a spectrum receiver for transmitting spectrum files to the system, with each spectrum file including a set of masses (or mass ranges) and the ion frequency for each mass (or mass range). A maketable module constructs a monosaccharide set table, in which each row of the table represents a set of monosaccharides. An identification module develops a listing of mass peaks in the spectrum which match a row from the monosaccharide set table. A summary module structures a glycan report. Memory modules include a monosaccharide set table module, a peak identification file module, a cartoon dictionary, in which reside symbolic representations of specific isomers, and a glycan report file module

In yet another embodiment, there is disclosed an article of manufacture in the form of a computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied in the medium. When the computer executes the program code, the computer is caused to perform method steps for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans from a mass spectrum. At least one glycan spectrum is received from a mass spectrometer, with each glycan spectrum including peaks having a measured mass. Glycan identifications are automatically assigned to each of the peaks and these assignments are then reported.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features of the embodiments described herein will be apparent and easily understood from a further reading of the specification, claims and by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram illustrating one embodiment of the glycan identification system disclosed herein;

FIG. 2 is a simplified pictorial illustration of example cartoons from a cartoon dictionary;

FIG. 3 is a simplified flow diagram of an embodiment of the method for automated identification of glycans;

FIG. 4 is a simplified flow diagram of an embodiment of a method for construction of a monosaccharide set table;

FIG. 5 is a simplified flow diagram of an embodiment of the method for peak identification; and

FIG. 6 is a simplified flow diagram of an alternate embodiment of the method for automated identification of glycans.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As used herein, the term “mass spectrometer” refers to a device able to volatilize/ionize analytes to form vapor-phase ions and determine their absolute or relative molecular masses. Suitable forms of volatilization/ionization are laser/light, thermal, electrical, atomized/sprayed and the like or combinations thereof. Suitable forms of mass spectrometry include, but are not limited to, matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), electrospray (or nanospray) ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry, or the like or combinations thereof.

As used herein, a “display” means any device or artefact that presents information in a form intelligible to a human observer and includes, without limitation, a computer terminal, a computer screen, a screen upon which information is projected, and paper or other tangible medium upon which information is temporarily or permanently recorded, whether by printing, writing or any other means.

As used herein, “list” means a computer-readable representation of data. A list may be implemented as any desired data structure, including without limitation a table, stack or array. A list may if desired be stored as a file or as a plurality of files.

As used herein, the term “protein” means any one of a group of large organic molecules containing chiefly carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulphur and consisting of unbranched chains constructed from a set of approximately twenty different amino acids, with one or more such polypeptide chains comprising a protein molecule.

As used herein, the term “carbohydrate” means any member of a large class of chemical compounds that includes sugars, starches, cellulose, and related compounds, including monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polyssaccharides

As used herein, the term “glycan” means polymers of more than about ten monosaccharide residues linked glycosidically in branched or unbranched chains.

As used herein, the term “isomer” means one of two or more compounds having the same molecular formula but different structures.

As used herein, the term “isotope” means one of two or more atoms having the same atomic number but differing in atomic weight and mass number.

This disclosure provides a system and method for automating the identification of glycans from a mass spectrum. In a sample of glycans processed through a mass spectrometer, the program identifies the glycans present in the sample by labeling the peaks in the spectra with cartoons of the glycans they represent. Some important features of the program are (1) it doesn't require the biologist to estimate the accuracy of the spectrum analyzer—this may be determined automatically; (2) glycan assignments may be associated with a confidence score; (3) the set of possible glycans is customizable. This last capability is desirable, since the set of possible glcyans is different in different organisms (or even different tissues within a single organism).

Turning now to the drawings, wherein the purpose is for illustrating the embodiments of the system and method, and not for limiting the same, FIG. 1 illustrates a portion of a computing environment for performing glycan identification. It will be appreciated that various computing environments may incorporate glycan identification. The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, general description of suitable computing environments in which the glycan identification method and system may be implemented. Although not required, the method and system will be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a networked computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the method and system may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, networked PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, embedded processors and the like. The method and system may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

It will be recognized that a computing environment may include various modules, such as a processing unit, system memory, a system bus coupling various system components to the processing unit, an input/output system, a hard disk drive, an optical disk drive, program modules, program data, monitor, various interfaces, peripheral output devices, and/or networked remote computers. However, for the purpose of clarity, FIG. 1 illustrates only those modules within the computing environment which interact with the glycan identification program. In particular, the glycan identification program resides within a computing module, which includes a processing unit, operating system, applications module, and memory module. The memory module may be comprised of one or more of disk storage, tape storage, magnetic media, non-volatile memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, FLASH memory, DRAM memory, SRAM memory, ROM, CD memory, computer memory, and/or any like memory system or device. The applications module may perform many possible tasks, one of which is glycan identification. The embodiments of the glycan identification method and system described herein are exemplary only and do not limit the function of the glycan identification method and system to those specific tasks or sequences of task performance.

In FIG. 1, glycan identification system 100 includes both program and memory components. Program component 110, the maketable program, constructs a monosaccharide set table, which is saved in memory file 150. Each row of the monosaccharide set table represents a set of glycan isomers, i.e., the different isomers that are comprised of that particular set of monosaccharides. For example, a row of the table could be 5 HexNAcs and 4 Hexoses, which has a mass of 2111.06 daltons. The identification component 120 reads monosaccharide set table 150 and a spectrum file from spectrum receiver 105 and develops a listing of peaks in the spectrum that match a row from the monosaccharide set table, and saves it in peak identification file 160.

Typically the spectrum received from the spectrum analyzer is in the form of a digital representation of a histogram. For each mass (or mass range) the digital representation contains a count of the ions or a number proportional to the count, measured in that range. For the purposes of example, following is a sample digital representation for part of an example spectrum: Lower Ind Mass Bd Upper z Ht Rel Inten Area 1 497.316927 497.27 497.42 6 2065 4.80 1592.22 2 497.493638 497.42 497.56 6 1468 3.42 762.34 3 497.661885 497.56 497.71 3 1480 3.44 1174.01 4 497.994684 497.71 498.26 3 3495 8.13 21512.71 5 498.314042 498.26 498.43 3 1547 3.60 1846.14 6 498.476933 498.43 498.52 0 1264 2.94 656.06 7 498.600191 498.52 498.67 0 1367 3.18 923.73 8 499.002176 498.67 499.25 3 3212 7.47 18388.34 9 499.349739 499.25 499.42 3 1367 3.18 526.17 10 499.459394 499.44 499.50 1 1480 3.44 482.20

Summary component 130 reads peak identification file 160 and utilizes cartoon dictionary 180 to associate a cartoon with corresponding peaks, then summary component 130 creates a glycan report, which may be sent to a print file or saved as glycan report file 170.

The cartoon dictionary 180 includes cartoons, or symbolic representations, for rows from the monosaccharide set table, with each cartoon represented as a drawing, which may have associated program code. While some rows in the table will not have a cartoon, others may have more than one, as is illustrated in FIG. 2. In this example the isomer with 5 HexNAcs and 4 Hexoses might have the two cartoons 210 and 220, respectively.

In developing the cartoon dictionary 170, an initial set of cartoons is loaded into the dictionary by the user. From these, rules are used to generate a much larger set. These rules may be structured such that they rarely generate a biosynthetically implausible cartoon. For example, two sample rules are

-   -   “A NeuAc can always be replaced by a NeuGc” and     -   “If there is a single fucose at the reducing end of a glycan, it         can always be removed”

The rules may not necessarily directly correspond to a biosynthetic pathway. Instead they may take a set of cartoons and reduce it to a single exemplar and a rule for generating the rest of the set. Note that the rules may need to be applied repeatedly. For example, if a glycan has two sialic acids, then the first rule generates three variants: NeuAc/NeuAc, NeuAc/NeuGc, and NeuGc/NeuGc. The rules may be species or tissue specific.

Returning to FIG. 1, an optional family program component 140 provides functionality that can be used in addition to or instead of summary component 130. Family component 140 utilizes the information from peak identification file 160 and the cartoon dictionary to develop a glycan family file 190 in which each family is represented as labels to a spectrum. Multiple families may be represented as labels on a single spectrum or each on its own spectrum. For the purposes herein, a family is a sequence of spectrum peaks, with the label for each peak containing one more monosaccharide than the label of the preceding peak. This functionality visualizes the steps by which the glycan is synthesized, monosaccharide by monosaccharide. The family report file may then be sent to a print file or saved as glycan family file 190.

Turning now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated an example embodiment of the automated method for glycan identification. At 310 a monosaccharide set table, which is discussed in greater detail with reference to FIG. 4 hereinbelow, is constructed through use of a program such as, for example, maketable described hereinabove, to include the sets of monosaccharides and their masses. At 320, peak identification and assignment, described more fully hereinbelow with reference to FIG. 5, is performed. The results from peak assignment 320 are combined with cartoons at results summary 330 to produce a glycan report, which may be saved or sent to a print file. The glycan report may be in the form of a plain-text report and is illustrated graphically. In these graphical reports, assignments may only be reported if they correspond to a glycan that has a corresponding cartoon in the cartoon dictionary.

Turning now to FIG. 4, an embodiment for construction of the monosaccharide set table is discussed in more detail. At 410, a table in the following form is structured, HexNAc Hexose fucose NeuAc NeuGc 2 3 0 0 0 2 3 1 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

in which each row represents all isomers with the given atomic composition for the glycan. At 420, a row is generated for each possible combination of the monosaccharides using the following ranges: Min Max HexNAc 2 8 Hexose 3 13 fucose 0 6 NeuAc 0 4 NeuGc 0 4 Rows are then evaluated according to a rule set formulated at 430. For example, one such set of possible rules could be:

-   -   # fucose≦# Hexose+# HexNAc−4     -   # HexNAc≦# Hexose+6     -   uAc+# NeuGc≦2 min ((# Hexose−3, # HexNAc−2)

The rule set is applied at 440 and rows are eliminated if they don't satisfy all of a set of specified rules. After the rows are generated, the mass of each row is computed, together with the frequency of its isotopes, at 450. The isotope frequencies are computed based on the isotopic frequencies for H, C, 0 and N. So the first few rows of the above example, with their masses, become Probability of Each Isotope HexNAc Hexose fucose NeuAc NeuGc mass +0 +1 +2 +3 +4 2 3 0 0 0 1171.58 0.524 0.313 0.119 0.034 0.008 2 3 1 0 0 1345.67 0.474 0.327 0.140 0.044 0.011 2 4 0 0 0 1375.68 0.467 0.328 0.143 0.046 0.012 3 3 0 0 0 1416.71 0.455 0.332 0.147 0.049 0.013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Turning now to FIG. 5, one example embodiment of peak identification is illustrated. The method estimates the precision and calibration of a spectrum automatically at 510. Although for the purposes of example, calibration of the spectrum has been performed automatically, the user may set the calibration explicitly. For automatic calibration, some high-confidence peak identifications are made and the relative difference between observed and predicted masses of these identifications is measured. As an example, suppose the measured mass of each of these peaks is between 200 and 300 ppm below the theoretical mass of its assigned glycan. Then when deciding whether to assign a glycan to one of the other peaks there is greater confidence in the assignment if the observed peak is between 200-300 ppm below the predicted mass of the glycan. The match is rejected if it is (for example) 200 ppm above the predicted mass. In other words, the spectrum is calibrated by defining an acceptable tolerance based on the tolerance of the high-confidence assignments.

In more detail, taking high-confidence peak identifications and the measured relative difference between observed and predicted masses of the identifications yields two numbers a and b which can be used to decide if an observed peak should be assigned to a glycan. An assignment is accepted if the observed mass and theoretical mass of the glycan satisfy $\begin{matrix} {{\frac{{observed} - {theoretical} - a}{theoretical}} < b} & (1) \end{matrix}$

Currently, high confidence identification of a peak with a glycan means

-   -   The peak is intense—it's one of the 200 highest peaks.     -   The mass of the peak is within a tolerance t of a theoretical         glycan mass m.     -   The isotope envelope closely matches the theoretical one.     -   There are no significant peaks near mass m−1.         Another possible criterion would be to require that the         theoretical glycan be on an approved list of commonly occurring         glycans.

Using the relative difference Δ between theoretical and observed peaks, $\Delta = {\frac{{observed} - {theoretical}}{theoretical}.}$ In a perfectly calibrated spectrum, about half the Δ's would be positive and half the Δ's would be negative. In fact, spectra are rarely perfectly calibrated, and often all the Δ's have the same sign.

One example approach to compute the constant a in equation (1) hereinabove:

-   -   1. Set the tolerance t to 300 ppm     -   2. Find all high confidence peaks that are within t of the         theoretical glycan mass, that is |Δ|<t.     -   3. If there are fewer than 15 such peaks, replace t with 2t and         go back to step 2.     -   4. Compute the relative difference A for each high confidence         peak and compute the median AΔ_(med) of all the Δ's. This is a         measure of calibration error and is a first estimate for the         constant α.     -   5. Apply an adjusted formula for Δ that takes into account the         calibration error         $\Delta = \frac{{observed} - {theoretical} - \Delta_{med}}{theoretical}$         Find an improved set of high confidence peaks, namely those with         |Δ|<t using this new definition of Δ.     -   6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until they resolve to provide a         consistent value of Δ_(med). Then set a=Δ_(med).

One possible approach for determining a reasonable value for b is achieved by setting t to 10 ppm and increasing it in increments of 10 ppm, for each t a set {Δ_(i)} of the relative differences of the peaks within tolerance t is computed. In trying to detect the point at which the Δ_(i)'s no longer reflect the natural noisiness of the mass spectrometer, a point may be reached at which peaks are included that are incorrect assignments. If this “breakdown” occurs for t=t₀, then b is set to b=t₀.

This “breakdown” may be detected as follows:

For each t, an ψ₂ test is performed on the resulting Δ_(i) to determine if their distribution is normal. If there is a sudden jump in ψ² at t=t₀, the b is set to b=t₀. Otherwise the spread of the Δ's is determined by computing their standard deviation s. For each t, t/s is computed. If there is a value t₀ at which t/s has a pronounced maximum, then b is set as b=t₀. Otherwise b is selected to be the point at which the standard deviations s seem to reach a plateau. After the spectrum is calibrated, peak assignments are made at 520. Working from the table of isotopes, each entry in the monosaccharide set table is examined, to find a match in the spectrum. This is accomplished by selecting the isotope of each isomer with the highest expected frequency, and then searching the spectrum for a peak within an acceptable tolerance of that isotope. If several possible peaks match within an acceptable tolerance, the peak that gives the best isotope envelope (more precisely, the one with the lowest S score) is selected. This generates a list of assignment of peaks to glycans.

A sample output of peak identification may appear as follows: predict m observ m off rank dif % dif sd nac hex fuc neuac neugc S nbrs gnbrs 2563.29 2563.74 1 2 −0.45 −0.00018 1.0 4 4 4 0 0 0.01 5 5 2565.27 2565.75 1 8 −0.48 −0.00019 1.2 3 6 1 1 0 0.28 7 1* 2565.27 2565.75 1 8 −0.48 −0.00019 1.2 3 5 2 0 1 0.28 8 1* 3042.52 3042.83 1 12 −0.31 −0.00010 0.6 5 6 3 0 0 0.01 8 6 2389.20 2389.73 1 13 −0.53 −0.00022 2.0 4 4 3 0 0 0.02 8 3 2838.42 2838.79 1 16 −0.37 −0.00013 0.0 5 5 3 0 0 0.01 8 5 2593.30 2593.78 1 32 −0.48 −0.00018 1.2 4 5 3 0 0 0.01 8 6 3044.50 3044.83 1 37 −0.33 −0.00011 0.5 4 7 1 0 1 0.37 9 0* 3044.50 3044.83 1 37 −0.33 −0.00011 0.5 4 8 0 1 0 0.37 8 1* s 2391.18 2391.70 1 49 −0.52 −0.00022 1.8 3 5 1 0 1 0.57 8 0* s 2391.18 2391.70 1 49 −0.52 −0.00022 1.8 3 6 0 1 0 0.57 7 0* s 3012.51 3012.80 1 54 −0.29 −0.00009 0.7 5 5 4 0 0 0.05 8 7 3014.49 3014.80 1 58 −0.31 −0.00010 0.5 4 7 1 1 0 0.16 9 2* 3014.49 3014.80 1 58 −0.31 −0.00010 0.5 4 6 2 0 1 0.16 9 3*

Peak identification may optionally include quality assessment, as shown at 530. If this option is selected, each assignment is rated based on a quality score measurement, which determines the likelihood that the assignment is correct. This is based on several factors:

1. Proximity of the measured mass of the peak to the theoretical mass of the glycan. This may be measured by $\frac{{observed} - {theoretical} - a}{theoretical}$ where a=Δ_(med).

2. Computation of the isotope envelopes. Theoretical frequencies f_(i) were computed when the monosaccharide set table was constructed. For each peak of mass m, the peak heights at m, m+1, . . . m+5 are checked and converted to frequencies f_(i)′. The observed and theoretical frequencies are compared using S=Σ(f_(i) −f _(i)′)². Smaller values correspond to higher-quality matches.

3. Examination of m−1 peak. If a peak occurs at m−1, the height of this peak is checked. A smaller peak height is an indication of confidence in the assignment.

Although these factors may be combined into a quality number, they may also be utilized in a binary form to indicate a suspect peak. A peak is suspect if either ${{\frac{{observed} - {theoretical} - a}{theoretical}} > {3s}},$ in which s is the standard deviation of the theoretical high confidence assignments), or

-   -   if the isotope sum S>0:30, or     -   if the height of the peak at m−1 is greater than one-half the         height of the highest theoretical isotope peak of the glycan.

In the case in which the spectrum contains peaks for two glycans of nearby mass, the isotope rule may be modified to distinguish nearby glycans.

Another possible option within peak identification is spectrum combination at 540. In a case in which multiple spectra are available, it is possible to combine the information in them to learn more than could be gained from a single spectrum. Although several analyses are available for this case, two examples are described for the purposes of illustration.

-   -   1. Are there peaks common to many spectra that don't match any         glycan? If so, can they can be identified, for example, as a         contaminant?     -   2. Are there glycan isomers that don't have an obvious cartoon         (i.e., are biosynthetically implausible), but still appear         frequently?

Turning now to FIG. 6, there is illustrated another example embodiment of the method for automated identification of glycans. At 610 a monosaccharide set table, which is discussed in greater detail with reference to FIG. 4, is constructed through use of a program such as, for example, maketable described hereinabove, to include the isomers and their masses. At 620, peak identification and assignment, described more fully hereinabove with reference to FIG. 5, is performed. The results from peak assignment 620 are combined with cartoons at family results 630 to produce a family report, which may be saved or sent to a print file. The family report may be in the form of a plain-text report in which each family of glycans is reported separately. In those cases in which the report is illustrated graphically, assignments may only be reported if they correspond to a glycan that has a corresponding cartoon in the cartoon dictionary. For the purposes herein, a family is a sequence of spectrum peaks, with the label for each peak containing one more monosaccharide than the label of the preceding peak. This functionality visualizes the steps by which the glycan is synthesized, monosaccharide by monosaccharide.

While the present discussion has been illustrated and described with reference to specific embodiments, further modification and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art. Additionally, “code” as used herein, or “program” as used herein, is any plurality of binary values or any executable, interpreted or compiled code which can be used by a computer or execution device to perform a task. This code or program can be written in any one of several known computer languages. A “computer”, as used herein, can mean any device which stores, processes, routes, manipulates, or performs like operation on data. It is to be understood, therefore, that this disclosure is not limited to the particular forms illustrated and that it is intended in the appended claims to embrace all alternatives, modifications, and variations which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the embodiments described herein

The claims, as originally presented and as they may be amended, encompass variations, alternatives, modifications, improvements, equivalents, and substantial equivalents of the embodiments and teachings disclosed herein, including those that are presently unforeseen or unappreciated, and that, for example, may arise from applicants/patentees and others. 

1. A computerized method for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans from a mass spectrum, comprising: receiving not less than one glycan spectrum from a mass spectrometer, wherein said not less than one glycan spectrum includes peaks having a measured mass; assigning glycan identifications to said peaks; and reporting said peak assignments.
 2. The method for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 1, further comprising constructing a monosaccharide set table having a plurality of isomers corresponding to glycans.
 3. The method for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 2, wherein constructing said monosaccharide set table comprises: constructing a glycan/monosaccharide set chart, wherein each row represents a set of monosaccharides; applying combination ranges for said monosaccharides; developing a rule set, wherein said rules specify monosaccharide combination limitations; eliminating each of said monosaccharide rows not satisfying said rule set; and computing glycan isomer mass and glycan isotope frequency.
 4. The method for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 1, wherein assigning glycan identifications comprises: calibrating said received glycan spectrum; and matching isotopes from said monosaccharide set table to said peaks within said glycan spectrum.
 5. The method for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 4, wherein calibrating said received glycan spectrum comprises setting said calibration explicitly.
 6. The method for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 4, wherein matching isotopes comprises: selecting the isotope with the highest expected frequency for each said monosaccharide; searching said spectrum for a peak within an acceptable tolerance of said isotope; and selecting said peak having the best isotope envelope.
 7. The method for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 4, further comprising performing a quality assessment, wherein said quality assessment determines the likelihood that said peak assignment is correct.
 8. The method for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 7, wherein performing said quality assessment comprises: measuring proximity of said measured mass of a selected peak to the theoretical mass of the glycan; computing said isotope envelopes; and examining the peak height at a peak height mass minus one position.
 9. The method for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 4, further comprising performing spectrum combination, wherein said spectrum combination includes combining the information from a plurality of spectra.
 10. The method for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 1, wherein said reporting of said peak assignments comprises not less than one family report, wherein said family comprises a sequence of spectrum peaks, wherein the label for each succeeding peak contains not less than one more monosaccharide than the label of the preceding peak.
 11. The method for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 1, wherein said glycan identifications comprise a plurality of cartoons, wherein said cartoons comprise symbolic representations of said rows from said monosaccharide table.
 12. A computerized system for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans from a mass spectrum, comprising: a spectrum receiver for transmitting not less than one spectrum file to the system, wherein said spectrum file includes not less than one set of masses or mass ranges and the ion frequency for each said mass or mass range; a maketable module for constructing a monosaccharide set table, wherein each row of said monosaccharide set table represents a set of monosaccharides; an identification module for developing a listing of mass peaks in said spectrum which match an isomer from said monosaccharide set table; a summary module for structuring a glycan report; and a plurality of memory modules, comprising: a monosaccharide set table module; a peak identification file module; a cartoon dictionary, wherein said cartoon dictionary includes symbolic representations of rows of said monosaccharide set table; and a glycan report file module.
 13. A computerized system for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 12, further comprising a family module for structuring not less than one family report, wherein said family comprises a sequence of spectrum peaks, wherein the label for each succeeding peak contains not less than one more monosaccharide than the label of the preceding peak.
 14. A computerized system for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 12, wherein said monosaccharide set table construction comprises: means for constructing a glycan/monosaccharide set chart, wherein each row represents a set of monosaccharides; means for applying combination ranges for said monosaccharides; means for developing a rule set, wherein said rules specify monosaccharide combination limitations; means for eliminating each of said monosaccharide rows not satisfying said rule set; and means for computing glycan isomer mass and glycan isotope frequency.
 15. A computerized system for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 12, wherein said identification module comprises: means for calibrating said received glycan spectrum; and means for matching isotopes from said monosaccharide set table to said peaks within said glycan spectrum.
 16. A computerized system for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 15, wherein matching isotopes comprises: means for selecting the isotope with the highest expected frequency for each said monosaccharide; means for searching said spectrum for a peak within an acceptable tolerance of said isotope; and means for selecting said peak having the best isotope envelope.
 17. A computerized system for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 15, further comprising means for performing a quality assessment, wherein said quality assessment determines the likelihood that said perk assignment is correct.
 18. A computerized system for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 17, wherein means for performing said quality assessment comprises: means for measuring proximity of said measured mass of a selected peak to the theoretical mass of the glycan; means for computing said isotope envelopes; and means for examining the peak height at a peak height mass minus one position.
 19. A computerized system for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 15, further comprising means for performing spectrum combination, wherein said spectrum combination includes combining the information from a plurality of spectra.
 20. A computerized system for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans according to claim 16, further comprising means for assigning glycan identifications, wherein said glycan identifications comprise cartoons.
 21. An article of manufacture comprising a computer usable medium having computer readable program code embodied in said medium which, when said program code is executed by said computer causes said computer to perform method steps for identifying peaks corresponding to glycans from a mass spectrum, comprising: receiving not less than one glycan spectrum from a mass spectrometer, wherein said not less than one glycan spectrum includes peaks having a measured mass; assigning glycan identifications to said peaks; and reporting said peak assignments. 